safety, overreactions, and the bonus staple [1]

Doh! hate when that happens

Off grid, or at work, its always important to be conscious of your safety in whatever activity you do.   You must watch out for the rationalizations and shortcuts, because eventually you will get bitten!   What happened to me this week is a prime example of how a short two hour task can turn into a six hour ordeal.

I was working in the field preparing to setup a new customer’s Internet service.   I did the usual pre-install walk around with the customer to determine their needs, and to select the best location for the outdoor equipment and where to run Ethernet cables.   This one should be easy I thought, I only have to mount equipment on the edge of their deck and run the cable under it and through one wall.

First I had to mount a bracket on the edge of the deck.  Then run a cable and add ends to it.  Finally,  mount the outdoor equipment and move inside to finish up the computer work with my favorite Netbook.

A similar deck

I’d have to get out my telescoping ladder since it was about eight and a half feet over the concrete around the pool.

telescoping ladder

A quick note, about my ladder.  I’ve had it nearly 3 years and it was a great choice for this kind of work.  The ladder could be extended 14 feet, yet would collapse into something about 2.5 feet tall.  The trade off I made was to spend more on this ladder and not spend anything on a roof rack for the rig.   The ladder worked well, but had lost some of the internal plastic parts over the years.  This meant that it would collapse to 3.5 feet, and often times you’d have to work with it a little because the left side of the third rung would not lock.  When extended, I’d have to compensate how it would lean against walls because it had a left leaning curve to it.  [About here is where the reader will get a whiff of  'rationalization' odor! ]

This ladder had to be handled just right, but I thought it was safe.  Never mind that I would never let an employee use such a ladder.  I “knew” how to work around this ladder’s unique limitations.  The hazard was getting its footing just right to compensate for the left leaning.

Back to the install.  Everything went well with the mounting bracket, but when I had to reposition the ladder a few times to staple down the cable …

=====  Boom! Crash! Darn! =====

I stepped onto that third step instead of skipping it.  The rung gave way and I quickly ended up on my rump with my legs through the ladder.  As I caught myself on the way down, I bumped my head in a grazing fashion across one of the drywall covered poles supporting the deck.   Oops!  looked like I had a little blood from my head scrape.   I sat there for a good minute to make sure everything was OK.

Watch out for that third step!

Stood up, not dizzy or light headed, all seems good, except for the blood.  I held a little pressure on it and it seemed that everything would be ok in a few minutes.  That was until the woman getting new service came out.  Umm let me think of a polite way to describe this…  she freaked out.  Why? Because blood ran down my neck and under my shirt in the front making a startling sight.  [darn, there goes another work shirt.]

excited reactions

“Call 911!  Call 911!, we need to get you an ambulance!”, she yelled.  Are you dizzy? Sit down, let me get some ice while the ambulance comes.  I tried to reassure her that this was minor and the blood had stopped.  She wasn’t buying it.  My next attempt to calm her was to tell that the ambulance will cost $850 just for them to start the motor.  “Ohh, Here, let me drive you to the hospital.” she said.

Ok, time for the last ditch try.  “Let me call my wife, she can be here shortly, and she is a Vet – Tech who has lots of experience stitching up animals!” , I said.   So I called Jackie and began to explain the “situation” when the customer firmly grabbed the phone to talk.  (I think she was expecting me to pass out any second.)  Of course now Jackie would get an inflated view from my overreacting customer,  Mary!

[In Mary's defense I must add a note here.  She had recently had he son knocked unconcious snowboarding who had many stiches to patch up. ]

It took about 30 anxious minutes until Jackie arrived.  Meanwhile, I walked around with ice on my head looking to see if there was a ladder in their garage that I could use to finish the install.   This whole thing was just a stupid delay that I wanted to move past and  get the job done.  During the wait, Mary had called her husband about the situation.  She also called her son who had completed his EMT training.  She did an informal evaluation of me based on his questions ( still thinking I might drop any second ?  ).

Jackie to the rescue

Jacqueline

Jackie arrived with the kids.   Finally, some sanity to the situation.  After introductions, Jackie was

relieved to see me in one piece.   I asked if they had a ladder.   Unfortunately Mary’s husband had their  ladder at the  shop, so there was no way for me to complete the install that day.  There was some concern that we have two vehicles and that I shouldn’t drive.  Fortunately, I only needed to be a passenger, since my son has  learners permit for driving.

It seemed like I’d never get out of that situation, and finally I relaxed while Eric drove home.  He turned onto the dirt road and immediately pulled over and parked.  I said what’s up?  He meekly said, “I’m only doing what mom told me to do.”  “What? Lets just go home, its only 4 miles up the road and I’m tired.”, I said.  Just then Jackie pulled up with the other vehicle and motioned for me to get in.

[ Here is part two, where Marshall gets to P-A-Y for his ladder safety rationalizations!]

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1. safety, overreactions, and the bonus staple [2]
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3. off grid construction: climbing technique
4. Don’t wait too long!
5. Distractions, Focus, and Quality of Life